We chose direct mail to ensure that we reached the targeted individual. Digital would not achieve the impact and cut-through required for the audience – at that level they have someone filtering their emails, so they’d never see an email from Autodesk. Similarly, a simple letter would most likely be opened by their PA / secretary and probably not passed on. We needed to design and create a way to capture attention, open up the conversation, and reflect the high value of the interaction.
Torpedo designed and created a prestigious, high-value direct mail piece that included a personalised brochure for each contact, a unique 3D printed model plane and a built-in screen to play a video case study about Autodesk advanced manufacturing.
The video included an aviation case study which was a particularly innovative project using generative design to create an interior wall within the plane that was optimised for material and weight efficiency, with comparable strength characteristics. The mailer intentionally left the model plane as an unexplained element, until the recipient watched the video and saw the case study. That was the moment of realisation – the plane included in the model was a scale replica of the concept plane for 2050.
A lot of time and thought went into the look and feel of the packaging to make this a prestigious item of mail that would grab their attention. The size was important. This was a much bigger box than it needed to be, just to make it stand out from other mail. We made it mysterious looking, in a bubble envelope with lots of layers that needed opening. Once opened, the mailer was very tactile – we put a UV gloss on the box with a pattern you couldn’t see until you felt it. We wanted to ensure that if this mailer was sat on a table, the senior executive couldn’t resist picking it up and playing with it. Each mailer cost around $400 to produce and looked like a high-value, premium item.
The messaging and copy was crafted to tie together the two objectives of introducing Autodesk and inspiring a technical conversation. The key message ‘Together, we can make anything’ was designed to inspire and hint at the opportunities.
Each mailer was printed bespoke, addressed to the specific executive and included a photo of their assigned named Autodesk contact. This served as a virtual introduction including a personal email address they could get back to. Autodesk also sent a timed follow-up email about a month later to check whether they had received the mailer and prompting them to get in touch.
The ultimate campaign goal wasn’t volume of leads but value of opportunity. With just 45 mailers produced, it was intentionally a highly targeted campaign expecting very low response numbers, but aiming to open doors to push through a few high value (hundreds of thousands of dollars) deals.